The Headmaster's Tower

At the top of this tower are three smaller turrets which make up the Headmaster's tower and serve as the Headmaster's office and residence. Prior to 1995, the entrance was located on the second floor. However, this changed to the Seventh Floor sometime before the 1996-1997 school year. To gain entrance, a password must be given to a stone gargoyle, which will move aside at the correct password to reveal a spiral staircase with moving steps.

Behind the scenes

The Grand Staircase is a feature that appears only in the films and is not mentioned in any of the books, although because moving staircases are frequently referred to in the book series, it is possible that a Grand Staircase Tower did exist. Also, the Grand Staircase Tower replaces the Astronomy Tower as the highest tower in Hogwarts for the film series, as the Astronomy Tower did not make its first appearance until the sixth film.